Word Wounds
by IWriteToSurvive
Summary: Some things are just not meant to be said. Others are not meant to be heard. Lucy is pierced by the words of her guildmates that she was never supposed to hear. How will she handle their words? Will they roll right off her or will they leave scars on her heart and spirit? What can be said to fix this? I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL! Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This was inspired by leoslady4ever's story Words Unspoken. I have graciously been given permission to branch my story off a similar plot line. Now, I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters, you know all that jazz.**

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Word Wounds

Chapter 1: Sliced

Some things are better left unsaid, it's true. But some things are better left _unheard_ as well. Particularly the conversations of perverted men.

Lucy stood just outside the door of the guild's basement game room, her jaw clenched and her eyes shined with unshed tears as she listened to the conversation going on between some of the guild men.

Normally, Lucy wouldn't eavesdrop like this. Most unfortunately, however, Lucy had lost a bet with some of the girls and now she had a task to complete as punishment. For losing the bet, Lucy now had to sneak up behind Laxus and try to tickle the lightning slayer's sides. Apparently, Laxus had been extremely ticklish as a child and both Mira and Cana were dying to know if he still was. So, with images of her electrifying death flashing before her eyes, Lucy had spritzed herself with some scent neutralizer and gotten Aries to make her some shoes out of her wool to silence her steps. With these two things working in her favor, Lucy hoped to be able to sneak up on the man as they played their games. Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it – it worked. No one had smelled, heard, or even sensed her approach. Not even the dragon slayers.

Now, after listening to some of the rather crude things the gathered men had to say, all Lucy wanted to do was disappear. And maybe let Cana finally drag her into a drinking contest.

"… seen the way she dresses? She's practically begging to be kidnapped all the time!" said a voice that sounded a lot like Wakaba.

"Her clothes do kind of scream 'look at me!' don't they?" questioned Max in an innocent tone. Even from his voice, Lucy could tell he really meant no harm.

"Nah," said a gruff voice Lucy knew to be Gajeel's. "Bunny Girl just likes to be herself. There's no _intent_ behind her clothes. Besides, she's too innocent."

A part of her was grateful for Gajeel's words. Then she heard a snort. "Innocent? You actually buy into that act, Iron Boy?" said Laxus with a chuckle.

"Yeah, there's no way Cosplayer's as innocent as she acts," piped up Bickslow with a cackle. "Definitely not the timid little virgin."

"I'm not sure how she'll ever get a boyfriend, acting and dressing the way she does," Freed said stiffly. "She was raised a lady but acts nothing of the sort!"

The group of men laughed. "She doesn't need to be a lady with tits like hers!" Laxus barked.

"She's a little violent for my tastes," Macao added casually. "But she's got a big heart, she's strong, and she's pretty smart, too."

The next to speak made Lucy's heart stop and her blood run cold. "She'll never be as smart and classy at Levy!" Jet said with confidence.

Lucy flinched and swallowed the lump in her throat. She could handle the other's criticisms, but hearing Jet say she would never be as good as Levy sliced her too deeply. Against her better judgement, Lucy had fallen for the Speed mage. Even though she _knew_ he held a candle for the tiny Solid Script mage she considered one of her best friends. Despite this, Lucy couldn't stop herself from having deep feelings for Jet. After hearing this conversation, she almost wished she'd never met him.

Struggling against her tears and trying her best not to make a sound, Lucy debated what she should do next. Completing her bet was the farthest thing from her mind right now, but still, should she confront the group of vile men? Should she put them in their place or just walk away like nothing happened? She was hurt and angry and a part of her wanted nothing more than to Lucy Kick every single one of them into oblivion, but that would only prove some of what they had said about her. She hesitated, not knowing what to do. The choice, however, was taken from her when a bright golden light appeared in the doorway next to her. From it, Loke materialized.

The light had caught all the men's attention and caused them to turn. Lucy was still hidden in the shadows, so everyone was rather confused to see a furious Loke before them.

"Hey, Loke!" Max said with an easy smile. "Long time, no see! Why don't you join-"

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," Loke hissed in a dangerously low voice. "How dare you talk about Lucy like she's some kind of common whore with no worth! None of you even know the first thing about her! Lucy is the kindest, most gentle soul I've met in centuries! Her heart bleeds for Fairy Tail! She's a blessing on Earthland and a precious piece of all of us! How dare you all disrespect her like this? How dare you hurt her!"

All the gathered hen looked at Loke in shock. Then, when her faithful lion tugged her out of the shadows and into his arms, every single man paled at the realization. Lucy had heard _everything._

Gently, Lucy extracted herself from her spirit's arms. "Thanks, Loke," she whispered. "But you don't have to worry about me."

Lucy, now a little more level-headed and determined to get the answer to complete her bet, looked up at the guilty men with tears falling down her cheeks. She tried her best to keep her voice even. "I came down here because I lost a bet," she said softly. "As punishment, I was supposed to find out if you're still ticklish, Laxus. Mira and Cana are curious." Everyone was quiet as Lucy's strange sentence sank in. No one knew what to say to the woman they'd all just deeply hurt and offended. "So, tell me," she continued. "_Are_ you still ticklish, Laxus?"

The large dragon slayer shifted uncomfortably under Lucy's dead, broken gaze. He felt compelled to answer her, if only to atone for the things he'd said. "Yeah, a little," he said gruffly.

With a small nod, Lucy took a deep breath, "Thank you," she said as she turned to leave, but was stopped by several voices.

"Wait!" Max shouted.

"Lucy, please," Macao started.

"We're sorry," Wakaba added.

"We didn't mean to – " Jet started but Lucy cut him off with a sharp tone much colder than she had intended.

"Don't lie," she snapped. "You all meant every word you said. You just didn't mean to get caught." Lucy's shoulders sagged in defeat and her voice softened to a dull whisper. "It's true, you know. Some things are better left unsaid. But I guess it's a little too late for that now, huh?" The Celestial mage took a step up the stairs as she carefully wiped away her tears. "I trusted all of you…"

With that, the men watched as their devastated Lucy disappeared up the stairs with her fuming Zodiac spirit. After a moment of guilty silence, Laxus spoke up. "Well, shit," he huffed. "We sure fucked that up."

"Indeed," Freed nodded.

"We should try to make it up to her," Max said imploringly. "The least we could do is apologize."

"Tch," Gajeel grunted with a roll of his ruby eyes. "Apologize? Did you not _see_ those tears? You guys really hurt Bunny Girl. It's gonna take a whole lot more than an apology."

"Then what do you suggest we do, oh Wise One?" snapped Laxus.

"Get on your hands and knees and beg her forgiveness," Gajeel said without hesitation. "That overgrown cat was right. Bunny is the heart and soul of our guild and you all fucked up big time. You better pray she doesn't tell the whole guild about this. I'd hate to see what Mira and Erza would do to anyone who hurt Bunny."

Everyone flinched. Gajeel was right. They were all dead men walking.

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**A/N: Hey! ****It's going to be a chaptered fic but I cannot guarantee regular updates. I just had to upgrade to 5 jobs so things are more than a little tight. But I hope you all continue to stick with me! **

**Lots of love!**

**XOXO**

**Andromeda**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Changed

"You should've let me beat them all, Lucy," Loke practically growled as the reached the top of the stairs that lead to the basement.

Lucy sighed and wiped away more of her tears. "No, Loke. It's not worth it." She fumbled with her keys, hands shaking, before extracting Gemini's key. "Open! Gate of the Twins! Gemini!" she called softly.

With a poof! the spirit appeared and addressed their keyholder. "How can we help you today, Lucy? Piri piri!"

Lucy smiled sadly at them. "I need you to do me a favor," she started. "I need you to transform into me and go pick a solo mission from the board." In an instant the twins had copied their precious Princess. "Will you go with them, Loke? Help them pick out a long on, please, and then meet me at my place. I'd do it myself but, I really don't want to face everyone after that…"

"Of course, Lucy," Loke said with an understanding look. He tenderly kissed her forehead before gently pushing her toward the back door. "We'll take care of everything."

"Thanks, guys," Lucy said with a watery smile. "You're the best. Oh! Gemini, if Mira and Cana ask, tell them yes, Laxus is still ticklish."

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Less than two hours later, Lucy found herself on a train headed to a remote town in the mountains north of the capitol. Loke and Gemini had managed to find a request that would get Lucy away from Magnolia for at least three weeks and she couldn't have been more grateful. As much as Lucy loved everyone in her beloved Fairy Tail guild, she knew she needed to get away – especially after the events of a few hours ago.

Even though she knew that they truly meant no harm and that those comments hadn't been meant for her ears, the truth of it was – she _had_ heard them. And she couldn't help but to take their words to heart. But, if Lucy was anything, she was a fighter. She would do everything in her power to complete this solo mission and at least prove to herself (and hopefully others) that she was more than what they thought.

So, with her spirits by her side, Lucy spent the next five weeks completing her first solo mission. It had taken two weeks longer than she had anticipated, but in the end, Lucy was satisfied with her work. She had managed to track down every single one of the bandits that had been terrorizing the village and retrieved every item that had been stolen by them. Granted, she hadn't made it out completely unscathed. Half way through the mission she had the misfortune of stumbling across a mountain lion who felt the need to protect her cubs. Thankfully she'd managed to get away. Not before the giant feline had taken out a decent chunk of her leg, of course, but still, it could have been worse. Despite that minor (and painful) setback, Lucy was glad she had taken this mission. She was proud of herself.

In all, the mission had done a good job of distracting Lucy from the heartache that awaited her back in Magnolia. Until the train ride back home, anyway. An hour into her return journey, Lucy summoned Loke to keep her company. Her faithful Lion spirit was exactly the companion she needed right then.

Though Loke was always there for his Lucy, he was upset to see her so down. She had completed her mission beautifully, yes, but he could tell it had only served as a temporary distraction. The men's awful words were still weighing on her mind and making her doubt herself. In just a few weeks, Lucy had changed quite dramatically and all her spirits could tell. She was much quieter now; always appearing to be lost in thought. She wore much less revealing clothing now, though, that was partially due to her new leg wound that she didn't wish others to see. But what changed most of all were her expressions. She rarely smiled and her beautiful no longer seemed to sparkle.

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It was very early when Lucy's train arrived in Magnolia. The sun was just starting to break over the town. People were starting to move about for the day but all Lucy wanted to do was go home and crawl into her nice, warm bed. It had been a tiring journey and if she was being honest with herself, she didn't want to face anyone just yet.

So, it wasn't until nearly five in the afternoon when Lucy finally got up. It was with a dread-filled heart that she slowly made her way to the guild. Not wanting to open her wounds, Lucy had opted to wear a loose, ankle-length skirt that wouldn't agitate her bandages and a flowing blouse that had sleeves to her elbows.

Lucy took a deep breath before she pushed open the guild doors. Things appeared a little extra wild today so no one took notice of her arrival – which she was grateful for. Trying her best not to limp, Lucy carefully made her way to Mirajane at the bar. She was nearly there when the bubbly barmaid spotted her.

"Welcome back, Lucy!" Mira called out to her loudly with a wide smile.

For a moment, time froze and all eyes landed on Lucy as she quietly took a seat at the bar. "Thanks, Mira," she replied in a quiet tone. "It's good to be back."

Mira smiled and handed her a smoothie. "How was the mission? You were gone longer than expected. I was getting worried."

Lucy nodded as she swirled her straw around the pink substance in her glass. "It was fine. There were more bandits to catch than I thought so it took a little longer. Plus, recovering all those stolen items took up most of my time."

As if she knew that Lucy wasn't telling her something, Mira seized Lucy's face in both of her hands and carefully inspected every inch of her as if looking for something. "Are you all right?"

Lucy rolled here eyes and gently removed Mira's hands. "I'm fine, Mira. No need to worry."

Mira narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips threateningly. "Did something happen, Lucy?"

Lucy sighed and propped elbow on the table to support her chin lightly. "I'm not sure why you're giving me that look, Mira. The mission took a little longer but I still completed it just fine." Mira was about to retort when Lucy turned in her barstool to observe the guild. "Just drop it, Mira. I'm fine. Promise."

Mira let out a defeated sigh. "All right," she relented. "I'm just glad you made it home, safe and sound."

Lucy nodded. "Have you seen my team today?" she asked as her eyes roamed over the tables.

"Mhm," Mirajane hummed. "Erza and Gray went out on solo missions – they should be back in a day or two. Wendy and Carla went on a small mission with Team Shadow Gear. And Natsu went fishing with Happy and Lisanna."

"That's great," Lucy said with a neutral tone. "Happy is always saying how much he misses fishing with those two." Lucy was beginning to grow a little self-conscious. While she had been looking around the guild, she had caught the eye of a few of the men. She could tell that they all wanted to approach her – likely to apologize – but she didn't think she was up for that kind of confrontation just yet. So, with her drink in hand, Lucy got up from her stool and made a beeline for the far corner table where she had just spotted the only person in the guild who would leave her in peace.

"Hey, Gajeel," she said quietly and with a small smile.

The Iron Dragon Slayer regarded her with suspicious eyes as she sat down next to him. "How was the mission, Bunny Girl?"

Lust rested her head in her palm and lazily swirled the contents of her glass. "Not bad," she said. "It was a good distraction from… everything."

Gajeel grunted in response. "So, what really happened? I can still smell blood on you."

Lucy let out a small chuckle. She couldn't get anything past Gajeel. "Ran into a grumpy, mamma mountain lion. My leg hurts like a bitch."

Gajeel let out a snort and smirked into his mug of beer. "Took a chunk out of ya, didn't she?"

"She got me good," Lucy confirmed with a shake of her head. "Put me out of commission for nearly a week. The doctor insisted I had to stay in bed. He acted like my leg was about to fall off."

They were silent for a long while before Gajeel took another drink and muttered to her. "Have Wendy fix you up when she gets back."

Lucy looked down and smiled to herself. No matter how tough and cold Gajeel might seem, deep down he really did care. "Thanks, Gajeel," she said softly before she reached over and engulfed him in a hug. "For _everything_."

Gajeel wrapped one strong arm around her shoulders to return her embrace. It went without saying that Lucy was really thanking him for standing up for her and he was reassuring her that he would always be there for her.

The rest of the evening went by in companionable silence for the two friends. Gajeel sat brooding with his arms crossed and Lucy hummed quietly to herself while she wrote furiously in her notebook. No one dared approach them and Lucy was grateful. It wasn't until a small commotion announcing the arrival of Wendy and Team Shadow Gear that the pair even spoke at all.

Lucy quietly gathered her things. As much as she missed Levy and Wendy, she did not want to encounter Jet, who was bound to follow Levy around like a lost puppy.

"Don't even think about it," Gajeel growled at her. "I already told ya, when Wendy got back, you were having her look at your leg."

Lucy sighed but remained at the table. There was no point in fighting Gajeel on this. The stubborn bastard would get his way, one way or another. Gajeel didn't even have to call Wendy over. The tiny Slayer was so eager to see Lucy, she came dashing over as soon as she caught her scent.

"Lucy!" Wendy shouted with glee as she flung herself at the Celestial woman's neck. "I missed you so much! What took you so long? I was so worried!"

Lucy offered her a tiny smile. "I missed you, too, Wendy."

"Lucy!" came Levy's voice from behind them. "There you are!"

"It hasn't been the same without you! Everyone's missed you. Why'd you go off on such a long mission?" Wendy chirped.

Lucy flinched slightly and looked away. "I just needed some time to myself, that's all," she assured the younger girl. "But I'm fine and I'm back now."

"Quit lying, Bunny," Gajeel huffed. "Wendy, you need to take a look at her leg."

Lucy shot him a glare.

"Oh, no!" Wendy panicked. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Are you all right, Lu?" Levy asked with concern.

"Thanks a lot," Lucy muttered to Gajeel under her breath. He just smirked at her. "I'm fine, guys. Promise. Just a small incident with an overprotective mother. Nothing to worry about."

Wendy and Levy exchanged confused looks. "What do you mean?" they asked in unison.

Knowing she now had the attention of at least half the guild, Lucy le tout a resigned sigh and shifted in her seat so she could lift up her skirt discreetly. Aware of her audience, Lucy focused on carefully removing the bandages that wrapped around her entire left thigh. Before the damage could be fully exposed, however, Lucy glanced up and caught the eyes of the one man she didn't want to see. "I'm sorry guys, I'm feeling rather exposed… Jet, Droy, could you – could you turn around, please?"

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_Jet_

The second Wendy said she could smell Lucy, I froze up. She was back. Finally. What was going to happen now? All the men who had been present that day in the guild's basement had been walking around on pins and needles ever since. They'd all felt incredibly guilty for the things they had said about her and they really wanted to apologize to her. But she had disappeared. When Laxus had been brave enough to ask Mirajane where Lucy was, everyone help their breath, waiting for the demon barmaid to rip into them all. But she never did. She only smiled and said that Lucy had picked out a solo mission and left. So, it seemed like Lucy hadn't told anyone what had just happened. They were all safe. For a little while, anyway.

For weeks all I could think about when I saw Levy was the comment I'd made. I had compared her and Lucy. I'd flat out said that she wasn't good enough. More or less. What was worse, I'd compared her to her best friend. What the others had said what bad but, somehow, I knew that my careless comment had been worse.

Out of habit, Droy and I followed Levy as she rushed off the see Lucy along with Wendy. We exchanged nervous glances as the girls questioned Lucy about her mission. I felt guilty just looking at her but, for some reason, I couldn't keep my eyes off the blonde woman sitting at Gajeel's side. There was no doubt she was the same Lucy Heartfilia from five weeks ago but, something was different and I couldn't put my finger on it.

"…Are you hurt?"

The question shook me from my thoughts. Hurt? Was Lucy injured on her mission? Oh, no. My guilt increased.

I observed Lucy intensely but couldn't see any obvious signs of injury. Then my eyes widened when our gazes met. That's when I could see what had changed about her. It was her eyes. They were dull and her light had dimmed. _Oh, no, _I thought. _What have we done?_

Lucy broke eye contact with me quickly as she hesitated in revealing her injury. For some reason, I was anxious to see the damage for myself. Why was that? Is it because of my guilt that I was so worried? Was she so hurt by our careless words that she took on a mission beyond her capabilities and got injured as a result?

Again, I was broken from my thoughts when someone spoke. This time, it was Lucy addressing Droy and myself. "I'm sorry guys, I'm feeling rather exposed… Jet, Droy, could you – could you turn around, please?"

We exchanged a guilty look before complying. Lucy was never this insecure before. She never would've cared who saw her exposed legs before. In fact, her usual mini skirts showed her pride in her figure. Now she seemed… ashamed.

Lucy Heartfilia was broken and it was all their fault.

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**A/N: Sorry this update took so long guys! Life has been a little crazy and I went through a small patch of Writer's Block. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and I can't want to hear from you all!**

**XOXO**

**Andromeda**


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